Pacific University coach Keith Buckley could give advice on how to build a football program from scratch to the Cleveland Browns and UH-Manoa, both still searching to find a flashlight to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Boxers, a Division III school from Forest Grove, Ore., eliminated football in 1992 and reinstated it in 2010. They struggled in their first three years, going 4-23, including 0-9 in their return season. In the first two years, they were outscored 770-332.
Then Pacific had three consecutive winning seasons, including a 6-4 record and fourth place in the Northwest Conference in 2015. The last time the school had a string of success was from 1946-52.
Three of Pacific’s four losses were to teams that played in the NCAA Division III national playoffs: Linfield, Whitworth, and Dubuque.
How did Buckley change the culture at Pacific, which has more than 20 players from Hawaii on its roster?
In no particular order: Depth, patience, and finding the right quarterback.
In his first fall camp, there were more than 100 players. None had played college ball. It was a clear blueprint of patience and foundational building, not a quick-fix with junior college transfers.
It was also an exercise in Darwinism, the theory that the strongest survive. Because Division III schools don’t offer athletic scholarships, the Boxers that remained on the roster all four years grew in physical maturity as well as leadership qualities.
When a team paddles in the same direction as a coach, wins usually follow on a consistent basis, a perfect example being the New England Patriots.
It’s no surprise that Pacific improved each year, going 0-9 in 2010, 1-8 in 2011, and 3-6 in 2012. The players bought into Buckley’s philosophy.
“We look for kids who have great character, will be great teammates and representatives of Pacific and will compete like mad to help us win football games,” Buckley said. “It is what creates the culture and cohesion in our program that whether you are from Hilo, Los Angeles or rural Oregon you can have a successful academic and athletic experience at Pacific.”
When players tune out a coach, a team’s record usually deviates from one season to the next or craters.
In UH coach Norm Chow’s first year in 2012, the Rainbow Warriors went 3-9. They were 1-11 the next season and 4-9 in 2014. By his fourth season, when he recruited a majority of the roster, UH was 3-10, and Chow was fired.
Buckley came to Pacific from UC Davis, where he served as assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator for the Aggies, a FCS or Division I-AA program.
He had two gold stars on his resume. The 1996 graduate of UC Davis, with degrees in rhetoric and communications and English, was surrounded by success and knew how to snag the right-fit recruits.
Buckley played an instrumental role in the program’s transition from Division II to Division I under coach Bob Biggs. The Aggies had a run of 37 consecutive winning seasons and upset Stanford in their third season of transition to FCS.
In 1999, he moved to the Northwest and coached the secondary and linebackers at Idaho for two years. When he was with the Vandals, Buckley worked for former Oakland Raiders head coach and current Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach Tom Cable, one of the best in the business at teaching offensive-line play.
After a one-year stint as a defensive backs coach at Division II Humboldt State for the 2001 season, Buckley spent one year as a defensive assistant and two years as the associate director of football operations at Stanford under Buddy Teevens.
As a Cardinal, Buckley learned the roadmap of recruiting elite academic student-athletes. Stanford has a 4.7 percent admission rate, the lowest of any school in the country. (Of all the Division III schools, 81 percent are private.)
Right QB is key
Like the NFL, the most important position in college is quarterback. A QB touches the ball the most, makes decisions on every play, and has a direct hand in the outcome of each possession, such as throwing a touchdown or interception.
In 2010, Pacific had nine quarterbacks on the roster, including Oahu’s T.C. Campbell from Kamehameha-Kapalama and P.J. Minaya from Hanalani, an ILH Division II school with a track record for throwing the ball.
Campbell won the job over his fellow freshman and started eight games, but Minaya got one start, played in five games and had a better completion rate, 67 percent to 58, though in limited time.
In 2011, there were six QBs on the roster, and Campbell and Minaya were clearly the top two, but the gap had closed.
Campbell played in nine games and went 130 of 219 for 59 percent with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In eight games, Minaya was 63 of 99 for 64 percent with five TDs and two picks.
The next season, there were a half-dozen signal-callers on the roster, including 2012 Kamehameha graduate Warner Shaw, the heir apparent to the Oahu quarterbacks.
Basically, Buckley hit a home run when he recruited from Hawaii, especially targeting quarterbacks.
“Nearly 25 percent of our rosters have come from Hawaii. Our first three starting QBs — Campbell, Minaya and Warner Shaw — were from Hawaii,” he said. “Our record-breaking running back, Bronson Barretto (Kamehameha-Kapalama), was from Hawaii, and arguably the best wide receiver, Jordan Fukumoto (Saint Louis), we’ve had was from Hawaii.
“Talent is everywhere, and our roster reflects our desire to find the right fits for our program. The Big Island has been good for the development of Boxer football.”
In 2012, Minaya played nine games and threw for 2,258 yards at a 64 percent clip. Campbell played in one game and threw for 237 yards. He was lost to the year due to injury.
Stick around
Shaw got his feet wet as a freshman. He played in two games, went 5 of 11 for 67 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
By 2013, Minaya and Campbell were seniors. They shared the job, and Pacific finished with a 7-3 record. It was the first winning season since 1987, quite a turnaround. Three years earlier, the Boxers were winless.
There were seven QBs on the roster, an indication that Buckley was already preparing for his next signal-caller. Shaw played in two games, developmental time that would serve him well as a junior the next season.
In 2014, Shaw beat out seven other QBs and led the Boxers to a 6-3 record, despite the loss of 38 players from the program’s first senior class. He completed 68 percent of his passes, threw for 1,814 yards, and earned All-NWC honorable mention.
Last season as a senior, Shaw broke the school record for TD passes in a season (23), and set the career completion percentage mark (67 percent). He went 187 of 284 for 2,395 with only six picks and earned second-team honors.
And for the Boxers, success never strays far from home. Minaya is the wide receivers coach and Shaw an undergraduate offensive assistant.
